This Gluten-free Honey Cake recipe is a must make for Rosh Hashanah and any other sweet celebration. It is dairy-free, nut-free and easy to make!
I am coming in hot with a honey cake recipe *just* in time for Rosh Hashanah! We are hosting our first holiday in our home this week and I am so excited. But when we were putting our menu together, I realized that I don’t have a go-to honey cake recipe to make!
But never fear fam – I whipped up this honey cake and it is too die for! You can prep this ahead of time and freeze it or just make it the day before or of! It takes 30 minutes to bake, which is an actual dream with a homemade dessert and tastes amazing. Plus it happens to be dairy-free, gluten-free and also nut-free too.
Tip: add in some peeled and diced apples if you want to make this even sweeter for the new year!
What key ingredients you need to make gluten-free honey cake:
- Gluten-free all purpose flour
- Coconut sugar
- Oil – liquid oil such as olive oil or melted coconut oil works
- Eggs – I haven’t tested flax egg but they should work well
- Honey – honey is the star of the show so I don’t recommend a sub here!
- Hot black tea or coffee – either works here! It helps balance out the sweetness in the honey cake. Decaf works perfectly too
How to make honey cake:
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Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8-inch round cake pan
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In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, oil, vanilla extract and honey
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Add the hot tea into the wet mixture and mix until combined
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Add in the flour, coconut sugar baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix until well combined
-
Pour the batter into cake dish and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until ready (I stick a toothpick in to see)
-
Drizzle honey on top of the cake right when it comes out of the oven and smooth it out with a spoon
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Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes and serve!
Tips for success making this honey cake recipe:
- I know it sounds crazy to put coffee or tea in this cake, but it helps balance out the sweetness. You can dilute it with water if you want. And also use decaf if you prefer too. You won’t taste it 🙂
- This recipe is easy to prep ahead of time. I added mine to the freezer and I will thaw it out the day of and either warm in oven or serve at room temperature. My family loves desserts cold (we are crazy)
- This doesn’t only need to be a recipe for Rosh Hashanah. Would be great for any holiday or occasion! And any brunches too – love a good brunch cake!
A few other delicious recipe to make for a Rosh Hashanah:
The Best Healthy Apple Bread Ever (vegan + gluten-free)
Vegan Apple CIder Donuts (paleo)
Crowd Pleaser Brussels Sprout Slaw!
Sweet and Hot Honey Sweet Potato Carrot Bake
Gluten-free Honey Cake
This Gluten-free Honey Cake recipe is a must make for Rosh Hashanah and any other sweet celebration. It is dairy-free, nut-free and easy to make!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: Serves 8-10 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free all purpose flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup oil (liquid oil such as olive oil or melted coconut oil works)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup hot black tea or coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
-
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8-inch round cake pan
-
In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, oil, vanilla extract and honey
-
Add the hot tea into the wet mixture and mix until combined
-
Add in the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix until well combined
-
Pour the batter into cake dish and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until ready (I stick a toothpick in to see)
-
Drizzle honey on top of the cake right when it comes out of the oven and smooth it out with a spoon
-
Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes and serve!
Notes
*Store in airtight containers for 5 days and or freezer for 2 months
Share this recipe
steph
Hi! This looks amazing and can’t wait to make this weekend! Have you subbed any other flour alternatives? I wanted to test with almond flour – do you think a 1:1 ratio will work? Thanks!
Rachel
i think it may be moister then! perhaps add a bit more flour if you use that. keep me posted! x
Jen
Hi! Can we use regular flour as a sub for gluten free? Thank you!!!
Rachel
yes
Mags
Hi! This recipe is AMAZING.
So, almond flour might make a more moist cake? Interesting- I might try it.
Has anyone subbed almond flour?
Rachel
thank you!!!!
Madeline
Please LMK!!!
Becca
can we just use regular flour if there is no need for gluten free?
Rachel
yes!
becca
great thanks! Made this for Rosh Hashanah and it was a hit!
Emily
This is a fabulous gluten free cake. I’ve never eaten honey cake before and wasn’t sure whether it would be too sweet, but the balance is perfect (probably thanks to the strong cup of tea!). I’m in the UK and can’t get the same brand of GF flour, so I used Freee GF Plain White Flour blend and it worked well, though I had to add 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum. I also found that the baking took a lot longer than suggested (about 50 minutes, rather than 30, at 160 C in a fan oven), but it’s still wonderful and moist. I will absolutely make this again.
Dawn
Shalom Rachl, can I use Cassava flour?
Rachel
hi no i dont recommend that for this – please follow recipe as is so it turns out delicious!
Lucy Downs
Is it better with tea or coffee
Rachel
either!
Millie
The ingredient list has 1/2 cup of honey. Is that the amount of honey that is mixed with eggs and oil for the cake batter? I’m confused because the recipe says to drizzle on honey at the end, but this extra honey isn’t in the ingredient list. How much honey should I expect to use for drizzling over the cake?
Rachel
1/2 is for the baking! just drizzle desired amount on top 🙂
Amateur
Can you use brown sugar instead of coconut sugar?
Rachel
you can do 1/2 cane sugar 1/2 brown sugar!
Kathy
I halved the recipe, omitted the sugar and used regular flour. I also added apple pieces and baked them in a small silicone muffin pan.
Great tasting with addition of black coffee. Thank you!
Rachel
yay thanks for sharing!!
Emaleigh
Followed the recipe to a T. Absolutely delightful!
I used King Arthur 1:1 GF flour, black tea and olive oil.
So simple yet complex if that makes sense lol.
Perfectly sweet and balanced. Totally worth making for a brunch!
Judith Ginsberg
I can’t use honey do you think maple syrup will work?
Rachel
yes but taste will be altered a bit! it’s a honey cake 🙂
Barby
Hi — can I make in a loaf dish rather than round?
Rachel
yes! adjust baking time as needed
Joy Caddy
this sounds nice and can easily be made ahead of a busy festive season. I am wondering if I freeze the cake do I put the honey on before or put it on after I thaw it out?
Rachel
honey on after it thaws 🙂